Necromancy

Definition

Necromancy is the act of conjuring the dead
for divination. It involves communicating with and raising dead body as a
ghost with some spells and rituals.
It is not to be confused with conjuring devils or demons for help.
Necromancy is the seeking of the spirits of the dead. The spirits are sought
because they, being without physical bodies, are no longer limited by the
earthly plane. Therefore, it is thought these spirits have access to
information of the past and future which is not available to the living. It
has been used to help find sunken or buried treasure, and whether or not a
person was murdered or died from other causes.

Origins

It dates back to Persia, Greece and Rome (Pompey checked for future battles
using spirits) and in the Middle Ages was widely practiced by magicians,
sorcerers, and witches. In the ancient time in Spain, necromancy was a major
discipline taught with their classroom in mausoleums and commentaries.
It was condemned by the Catholic Church as "the agency of evil spirits," and
in Elizabethan England was outlawed by the Witchcraft Act of 1604.

Rituals

Necromancy is the most dangerous of all black arts, which involves the
communicating with the dead. This is the apex of all magical art in
the world. It was term dangerous due to the various risks the magician is
exposed to when they summon the spirit and the other devil from under the
world. The spirit is made to make a trip, and they are not always happy.
Why do they bother the spirit? Necromancers have various reasons why they
do that; some are good while others may be otherwise.

Sometimes the spirit is summoned out of affection; the magician missed
loved ones who have died for a very long time. Sometimes they are summoned
to know the power they possess. And they may also be summoned to divulge
the whereabouts of a precious good that spirit only knows about. They must
have been dead for a long time, but they still have the secret of
something even after death. It commonly said that the spirit always
roams about around their grave within the first year of their
burial.
This process of communicating with the spirit is not an easy one even if
ever possible:

First, the proper location has to be located to do anything. The
necromancers go to the forest where no one can disturb them. And
they also use crossroads, because they believe that soul of the dead
will always pass through such places. Churches and castles that are not
longer in use are also their good venue because of graveyards around.

The necromancy is always performed at night around 1.00 am. They
can perform it under the rain and few other conditions but the night is
most preferred.

The necromancer prepares for nine days before attempting to do any of
these act, the necromancer is required to stay in the gloom of death.
They take off their clothes and put that of the corps on, and if they
put that cloth on they will be required to recite some chants. And until
such songs and other sacrifices are made, such necromancer is not
permitted to take off the cloth.

There are other forbidden acts like looking at a woman.

The food they eat will not contain any salt because salt preserve and
the body in gave does not remain intact. They only eat the meat of dogs,
because dogs are creatures of the spirit of the Goddess, whose
appearance is not to look at; and if the necromancers glance their mind
will be destroyed.

The communion of the necromancers is black unleavened with a symbol:
juice from grapes. Which symbolize the emptiness in the realm they are
about to explore. All the preparation is only meant to create a
sympathetic bond between the necromancers and the soul to be involved.

Once the necromancers is done with all the necessary preparations,
they go to graveyards and crossroad with their touch, and draw a kind of
circle round the grave and set fire around it.

After breaking the coffin such body is exhumed, then they laid the
head of such corps to the north and its limb as Jesus was
crucified. Close the body, the necromancer in a ritual place a sweet oil
burning in a pot, and recites their various chants. In a slight
variation, if such person committed suicide, the necromancer is required
to touch the corps nine times before the invoking. If all is successful,
the spirits slowly stand up. The spirit is also required to answer the
necromancer questions with spells.

After the interrogation, the necromancer will promise the spirit not
to disturb in the nearest future; he will burn the body and the spirit
will be rest which assures that the body will no longer be disturbed.

Practice

The practice of necromancy has been compared by some to modern
mediumistic or practiced spiritualism. Many consider it a dangerous and
repugnant practice. Dangerous because it is alleged that when some spirits
take control of the medium they are reluctant to release their control for
some time. Necromancy is not practiced in Neo-pagan Witchcraft, but it is
practiced in Voodoo.

There are two noted kinds of necromancy: the raising of the corpse
itself, and the most common kind, the conjuring or summoning of the spirit
of the corpse.